NOTE: If you're reading this post and you are the Asian company that makes this hardware, please contact Bryan or I, as we'd like you to use our software as yours really isn't very good. You've got a great product here, and we're happy to have you use our software with attribution. We aren't trying to get rich, just trying to get good karma.

BUGS: If you're running Skype and you're using our software along with the Windows Media Player plugin, apparently Skype doesn't like the Broadcast Window Message that we send to stop the media from playing. I haven't seen the bug myself, but Bryan has, so be aware. It's very likely Skype, not us.

DEVELOPERS: If you develop new plugins or fix bugs - which we hope you do - be sure to release the source, or give them to Bryan and I and we'll post them on SourceForge.

About Scott

Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.

So, just because you've actually seen this product (and I haven't), what happens if "an evil person" just unplugs the USB portion of the device? If the computer is locked, I'm sure it will stay locked until the user returns, but it will never lock again.

Does your improved software give a "Device removed" warning? Or could this be implemented with your plugin interface?

Scott, This is a great article. This assumes that there is one person using the computer. I am interested in developing this further to where multiple users for a single computer can be setup. For instance, at our lab in school we have 2 or maybe 3 people who use a computer at a single time (and only those 2/3 will use it). So my question becomes this

1. Can multiple keys (the round thing) be used on a sigle usb receiver.2. How can you associated multiple users to one system? For instance, which one has priority over the other, which one should login before the other.3. Is it even worth it to work on a multi user environment.

4. Why not just use RFID for which the receiver isn't unique. Any reader will read any RFID and you can maintain a database with the users and their associated RFID. Then when a user comes close, lookup the ID and login that user (Great for AD environment).

Nice! Couple of comments:1. Here in oz the product is distributed by laser - http://www.laserco.com.au/index.htm?/computeracc/pcacc/ao-usblock.htm - might perhaps be worth contacting them as they'd more than likely know who makes the original.2. (as a coworker pointed out), combine this with a fingerprint reader and you've got a nice double team of lock when you walk away and unlock when you get close.3. It should be a doddle to write a winamp pauser, around about 15 lines of code from memory.4. What would the options be for having one of the sticks plugged into a location without a full PC there? I'm thinking that if there was a cheap enough solution then this could really be nice for a "where'd dan go" tracking system. Meeting room doors, coffee machines, smoke area, etc. Its a bit big brother-ish, but if you didn't want to be tracked you could always leave the fob on your desk :). We have issues with coworkers going awol during the day, wandering off to get coffee or speak to other people. Being able to locate them quickly would be nice.

Daniel F

Sunday, August 14, 2005 7:36:10 AM UTC

Oh, and perhaps a silly question. What license is this released under? I had a poke around the source forge site, couldn't find anything.

Cheers!

Daniel F

Sunday, August 14, 2005 3:55:48 PM UTC

Here's an idea for corporate expansion... If all the corporate computers happened to have one of these little devices, and all the employees carried around the Fob, then it would be possible for each of the computers to get the specific user interface (key settings, wallpaper, icons, etc.) for each user if when they sit down at any computer in the corporate network.

To point out a scarier, big brother side of things.... it might be possible tell you the last known location of any employee since it has a range of about 10m. Just walking through the office would be close enough to tell you who's walked by. So when Hanselman isn't in his office (which is most of the time), I could find out where in the building he might be.

Thanks Scott, with this, it will be harder to find unlocked workstations to play pranks on. Good job party pooper! ;)

But I do have a security question. What happens if you walk away, and I put an intermediate USB device between the dongle and the computer, and record the data going back and forth? When the user returns, he or she is quite unlikely to notice if the dongle is in the back of the computer (think corporate workstation). How will this device and software protect against that?

Is it possible to create something based on bluetooth, e.g. cellphone as "green button"?

Anonymous

Monday, August 15, 2005 11:29:03 PM UTC

lol... nice work guys! not really something i'd waste what little daylight i have left on, but still something very cool!!!

scott, is the book you are working the wrox book on asp.net 2.0 or is there another book?

guyincognito

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 1:07:15 AM UTC

Talks with the OEM. Nice! You'll be (more) famous.Good call on the pocket PC. Might have to do a spot of research.

Here's the vb.net code to pause winamp. Turned out to be 17 lines :)I don't have a device just yet, and have never used source forge, so I'm a bit iffy on writing a full plug-in and adding it to the repository. I figure someone should be able to take the guts of this module and turn it into a plugin.

I've uploaded it to http://www.redgum.com.au/downloads/pausewinamp.vb.txt just in case this paste goes skew-wiff

when i try to open the source project UsbWirelessSecurity.sln in vs 2005 beta 2 i get ---------------------------Microsoft Visual Studio---------------------------Unable to open project 'C:\Program Files\PatchAdvisor Labs\USB Wireless Security\source\Installer\UsbWirelessSecurityInstaller.vdproj'.---------------------------OK ---------------------------any suggestions on what im doing wrong?thx

Craig E

Wednesday, August 17, 2005 3:23:30 PM UTC

Craig, try opening the SLN that doesn't include the installer. You don't need the installer anyway.

Scott Hanselman

Wednesday, August 17, 2005 9:07:23 PM UTC

Jason - our building key tags work the same way. I've been in the back office in the UK and watched someone move about the building by watching the log of "xx opened door y", "xx opened door z" etc.it was actually quite mesmorising!

The 1.1 is over here:http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=144221&package_id=158554&release_id=347792

Scott Hanselman

Saturday, August 20, 2005 12:51:04 PM UTC

Hi Scott.

I just bought this little device after reading your article on Coding4fun and I wanted to write a plugin to do a login automatically when I get in range of the usb key. I've looked all over (KB, google, newsfeeds etc) but I can't see a way to automatically login to the system once you lock the desktop.

Do you or anyone out there know how to login to an account after the Lock Workstation Plugin does its thing.

I'm using the 2.01 version and I'm trying to put the Batch File Plugin to work. I'm using a Winamp command-line program called "CLEveR" to mute and unmute Winamp, and using another command line utility called "Nircmd" to run the "blank" screensaver on my PC. (too lazy to type in windows password upon return, and I use an external USB sound device to listen to audio which "Mute Audio Plugin" isn't able to touch.)

So, in theory, my "locked.bat" file would be (with the .exe's in the environment path):@echo offclever volume 0nircmd screensaver

But, uhm, its not executing. Where specifically does locked.bat live? In the same directory as the DLL's and whatnot, right?

This is a quite nice setup, but without being able to unlock the PC on your return, then I can't see the use of it. Having to type in your password is a major pain. The software that come's with the key allows the PC to be "locked" (in a fashion) and unlocked when you return. Much handier I think. (Even though their software looks awful)

Jimbo

Friday, February 03, 2006 7:25:20 PM UTC

The radio transmission between transmitter and receiver has no encryption so it's quite easy to catch the transmission and send it back to the receiver. Look at the transmission:http://usprawnienia.wordpress.com/files/2006/02/PCLock.gifNow I'm doing a hardware sniffer/copier